Saucy in Seven

I give Claire Robinson with 5 Ingredient Fix on Food Network a great deal of credit for accentuating many many simplistic options to deliver great flavor to the table in 5 or less ingredients. There are some days that an uncomplicated entry and exit to a meal is desired. Other days call for a long lengthy ingredient list and a multitude of steps to achieve the end result. Much like life, one must balance both scenarios in approaching daily existence. There are occasions where time should just stand still and tick forward ever so slowly. For instance, while a roast cooks slowly in the oven one spends the time sitting ocean side chatting it up with an old friend and reading a great book. By the same token, it's nice to have a few recipes in reserve that provide the opportunity to spend less time in the kitchen and more time sitting around a table reflecting on the day's events with a loved one. Notoriously I allow the moment in front of me to determine what the order of the day is to be. I have a fabulous text Ayurveda: A Life of Balance: The Complete Guide to Ayurvedic Nutrition & Body Types with Recipes that has a plethora of information both food and otherwise, but I've found the section on sauces and dressings to be exemplary. I have prepared a recipe for Cilantro and Coconut Sauce from this cookbook many times over (served with/fish, chicken or shrimp). Roasted pine nuts, cilantro, avocado oil, coconut milk, minced fresh coconut, sea salt and a couple tablespoons of hot water. Seven simple ingredients minced or pureed deliver a huge culinary experience via the aromatic quality that cilantro brings to the kitchen and the creamy goodness that coconut milk delivers to any dish. And when time is really cut short and won't allow preparation: I keep in reserve a jarred product from Stone House 27 that is deliciously lovely with a hint of lime and ginger. (and a web site filled with a healthy assortment of recipes).

Bánh Bông Lan (Blooming Orchid Cake)

The Lowcountry is filled with notoriety. From stars who live here, like John Mellencamp and Brooke Shields to films that were made here, like The Big Chill and The Great Santini. Our home DVD collections contain all the locally produced flicks so we can watch with our guests and visitors to point out the same locale when on a walk or to refer to the locale on screen as a must see when in town. Same goes for Food Network Stars. We eat at their restaurants, buy their cookbooks, take their cooking classes, and watch their cable television shows. As you know Paula Deen and her boys Bobby & Jamie Deen are just across the river in Savannah. And from the blog post on January 9th you know that Robert Irvine of Restaurant Impossible fame has a restaurant called eat! on Hilton Head Island. What you may not know is that we are embarking on naming another local favorite restaurant owner as the next Food Network Star in season 7. Enter your life Orchid Paulmeier of One Hot Mamas. This wife, mother, chef is as humble, homegrown and dynamic as any one person can be. If you have attended a festival in the area, you've seen Orchid-if you've eaten at the restaurant, you've seen Orchid-if your kids go to school in Beaufort, you've seen Orchid. But to know her is really rather special and though I'm sure the other 14 candidates might score some of the same accolades from their friends and acquaintances, I'm pulling for this young woman. Not because she's local...because she represents for so many women an authentic individual, a master at juggling career, family and ambition while staying humble and true to herself. So in honor of her I'm pulling out a delightful recipe for Bánh Bông Lan. This is no ordinary spongecake this is a French butter sponge cake otherwise known as biscuit au beurre. Famously simple and sweet, just like Orchid Paulmeier.

To vote for Orchid in the public opinion of naming the next Food Network Star go to: http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-next-food-network-star-fan-vote/package/index.html

Robert Irvine in our backyard and Octopus Salad with Spiced Cucumber

News that Robert Irvine of Food Network fame will offer another haven for food lovers on Hilton Head Island speaks volumes for his commitment to contribute, participate and create vibrancy in his own back yard. Most noteable of late, he is spearheading an effort to raise funds to support an Extreme Makeover Home Edition in Beaufort County. Thus, I am pulling out a recipe from one of the cooking classes that I took at Robert Irvine's eat!. This salad reminds me of sprightly summer seasons and while sunny skies prevail here in the Lowcountry the temps are far less desirable so my rush for an injection of summer is quite intense. I may be sidetracking my resolution to respect local seasonal offerings a bit, but might as well digress from my intended path immediately (I resolve to never lose sight of my goal). I recall that one could also use scallops or grouper in this recipe for those of you not attuned to octopus. I discovered sambai oelek for my Chick Pea fries and through this cooking class at eat! so too did I develop an affection for sambal. Both are now constants in my kitchen.

sambal: chili based sauce which is normally used as a condiment; more at Wikipedia

Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robert-irvine/octopus-salad-with-spiced-cucumber-recipe/index.html